November 2023

Becca and I went out of town for the last week. It was fun, but I spent most of it wrangling the productivity system. I’m grateful she’s an understanding partner.

With that said, continuing on the nutrition theme, I’m digging the flexibility I have now.

I boiled eggs to take with us. I’m experimenting with removing eggs in the future. This means I won’t need to cook my meals outside of microwaving the green peas. This also should reduce my cholesterol overall. Part of me is disappointed I won’t be able to complete the experiment regarding exercise increasing good cholesterol and lowering bad, but still. (I don’t remember where I heard about the research related to exercise and its impacts on cholesterol, but I will post a link if I do.)

I’m having some concerns about the dependence on smoothies, though. I have yet to figure out a good way to travel with smoothie fixings or a way to do alternatives.

I modified the MacroFactor app to increase protein intake. To do that without adding a bunch of non-protein calories and other macronutrients means I rely a lot on protein powders. The favored delivery mechanisms for the powders are the smoothies.

I’m considering finding a complete smoothie powder I can blend without a blender and some bottles to take with me on trips.

Breakfast is still the largest meal from a nutritional contribution perspective. This gives me some slack for dinner. Either eating out or staying in. Eating out should also be cheaper because I won’t need to consume as much food.

Regarding physical movement, I’m still getting back on the wagon with that one. The MacroFactor app has dropped below 3,000 calories for the first time in a few months, making life easier. I have a self-powered treadmill now, which should let me get the walking in.

This week, I will return to a regular sleep schedule and complete the morning system integrity check.

The experiments with nutrition are doing well. I have made it more flexible and require less actual cooking. Let’s break it down:

• Breakfast
  • 150 grams of sunflower seeds
  • 100 grams of peanuts, which I may not be keeping
  • 3 large eggs
  • 20 ounces of orange juice
  • Banana smoothie:
    • 200 grams of bananas
    • 2 scoops of a bovine collagen powder
    • 6 grams of creatine
    • 1 tablespoon of honey
    • 25 grams of chia seeds
    • 13 fluid ounces of water
• Dinner
  • 12 ounces of green peas
  • 2 Protein bars
  • Fruit smoothie:
    • 75 grams of blueberries
    • 75 grams of blackberries
    • 75 grams of cherries
    • 28 grams of pea protein
    • 1 tablespoon of honey
    • 25 grams of chia seeds
    • 15 fluid ounces of water

Breaking it down using the MacroFactor app, we have the following macronutrient profile (rough numbers):

• 3,700 calories
• 196 grams of protein
• 196 grams of fat
• 405 grams of carbohydrates

My estimated daily caloric burn is hovering between 3,000 and 4,000. This is without doing much in the way of physical exercise.

From a micronutrient perspective, nuts, seeds, protein bars, and orange juice are the highest contributors. This should set me up for success while traveling as I can pack and supplement most of these things with other things on the road.

Work was getting interesting in a bad way, and I decided to leave that position to focus on some other things.

I’ve started working on some of the books I’ve been putting off and refining my productivity system to improve my mental health. It was not that it was in a critical position or anything; it was just a lot of weight being carried. Now that nutrition is more stable, I’ve started ramping up on physical therapy and fitness.

Oh, and this will be the last week with eggs. I’ve also noticed some irritated skin problems on my face I used to get back in the day. I think the peanuts are a contributing factor and have switched them back out for pumpkin seeds as I didn’t experience the problem while using those.